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Western Notes: Snyder, Lakers, Warriors, Nurkic, Hayes

March 21st, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After writing last week that he has heard Quin Snyder‘s name mentioned as a possible Gregg Popovich successor in San Antonio, Marc Stein says in his latest Substack article that he has also heard Snyder suggested as a probable candidate to replace Frank Vogel if and when the Lakers seek a new head coach.

Stein cautions that Snyder won’t necessarily be available this offseason. The details of the Jazz head coach’s contract aren’t publicly known, but his deal is believed to run for at least one more season beyond 2021/22.

However, according to Stein, coaching sources have said Utah has been unsuccessful in its attempts to further extend Snyder, creating the sense that he “might be more gettable than advertised.” There’s a sense that major changes could be in store for the Jazz if they don’t make a deep playoff run this spring — it remains to be seen if Snyder’s job could be among those potential changes.

Here are a few more notes from around the Western Conference:

With James Wiseman‘s return up in the air following a recent setback, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said on Sunday that head of basketball operations Bob Myers and the front office are “constantly looking at options” for frontcourt help (Twitter link via Kerith Burke of NBC Sports Bay Area). Golden State hasn’t made a change to its 15-man roster since re-signing Gary Payton II to be the team’s 15th man on October 19.
The NBA has yet to announce anything, but Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic could be facing a fine after a video surfaced showing him grabbing a fan’s phone and tossing it away following Sunday’s game in Indiana.
Jaxson Hayes‘ shift from center to power forward has allowed him to defend more on the perimeter and become an ancillary shot-blocker and rebounder instead of having to anchor the Pelicans‘ defense, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Hayes, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, has played some of his best basketball since adopting his new role. “I feel like playing the four, I’m out guarding more guards and switching one through four instead of playing in my actual drop coverage like the other bigs,” Hayes said. “… I can showcase more of what I can do on the defensive end.”

Lakers Rally Behind Russell Westbrook's Clutch Moment

March 20th, 2022 at 6:53pm CST by JD Shaw

The Lakers embraced Russell Westbrook‘s feel-good moment in Toronto, rallying behind him after he helped the team earn an overtime win on Friday with a game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes. “One of the highlights of our season – and it’s been a tough season for us, and specifically for him,” head coach Frank Vogel said. Contrary to public perception, Westbrook’s shooting percentages have only dipped slightly from last season, but his 15.7 shot attempts per game represent his lowest mark since 2009/10.

LeBron James Moves To Second On Career Scoring List

March 19th, 2022 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers star LeBron James passed Karl Malone tonight to move into second place on the career scoring list with a 38-point performance at Washington. He now trails all-time leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by 1,440 points. “What an incredible feat. He just attacked tonight,” coach Frank Vogel said. “A signature performance in which he passes one of the greats.” (Twitter link from Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN)

Injury Notes: Lakers, Jazz, Bulls, Heat

March 18th, 2022 at 9:53pm CST by Rory Maher

Lakers coach Frank Vogel said Anthony Davis is progressing each day as he inches closer to a return to action, as Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet tweets.

“Anthony has had a good week … He’s had a productive week,” Vogel said.

Davis continues to do spot shooting, which began on Monday. Davis originally suffered a right foot strain on February 16, so he’s a little more than four weeks into his four-to-six week recovery timetable.

Lakers reserves Carmelo Anthony and Wayne Ellington were both unable to play on Friday at Toronto due to non-COVID illnesses, Trudell relays (via Twitter).

Talen Horton-Tucker missed the game as well, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Horton-Tucker has been battling a Grade 2 ankle sprain.

Here are more injury-related updates from around the NBA:

The Jazz are dealing with a plethora of maladies at the moment. Six players were listed as out for Friday’s game against the Clippers, the team announced (Twitter link): Donovan Mitchell (right calf contusion), Bojan Bogdanovic (left calf strain), Danuel House (left knee bone bruise), Hassan Whiteside (non-COVID illness), Trent Forrest (right wrist sprain), and Udoka Azubuike (right ankle sprain).
Bulls coach Billy Donovan says Lonzo Ball has been experiencing discomfort in his rehab, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “He has not responded,” Donovan said. “There’s no setbacks. It’s still the same thing. He has not been able to do anything full speed. And anytime we get him close to that, there’s discomfort. So I think they’re going to probably at least look at, you know, ‘Do you back off and let him rest for a little bit and see if that helps?’” Johnson notes that Friday marked seven weeks since Ball underwent surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, and given his lack of progress, it seems highly unlikely he’ll return in the six-to-eight week recovery timetable Chicago originally provided. Donovan said there’s been no talk of Ball missing the remainder of the season, but the team is still determining the next steps in his recovery process.
On a more positive note, Donovan said Patrick Williams has been a full participant in G League practices with the Windy City Bulls, with no setbacks. He also said there was a “very real” possibility that Williams could return to action versus Toronto on Monday or Milwaukee on Tuesday, Johnson tweets. Williams has been targeting a return next week; he’s been out since October due to wrist surgery.
Jimmy Butler (sprained right ankle) and Victor Oladipo (back spasms) both missed the Heat‘s 120-108 win over the Thunder on Friday, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes. It’s the third time Butler has sprained his right ankle this season, Chiang notes, which is definitely a concerning trend. However, the injury isn’t considered serious. On the bright side, Caleb Martin (hyperextended left knee) and P.J. Tucker (left knee irritation) were both able to play after being listed as questionable. Martin had missed the past three games for the 47-24 Heat, who hold the No. 1 seed in the East.

Pelinka: Lakers Hope Monk Is “Part Of Our Future”

March 18th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of the Lakers‘ 2021 offseason acquisitions haven’t worked out as well as the team had hoped, but one bright spot has been Malik Monk. The fifth-year guard has significantly outplayed his minimum-salary contract, averaging a career-high 12.9 PPG on .464/.394/.767 shooting in 63 games (27.6 MPG).

Los Angeles’ ability to offer Monk a raise when he returns to free agency this summer will be limited, but VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka would like to retain the former lottery pick if possible, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays.

“The partnership has been a win from both sides,” Pelinka said. “Both for the Lakers, in terms of the productivity he’s had for us and then I think on his side, just showing people what he can do in big moments in big games. … He’s a guy that we would see as hopefully a part of our future.”

According to McMenamin, when Monk reached unrestricted free agency last year, he only received interest from three teams: the Lakers, Knicks, and Mavericks. And by the sounds of it, none of those teams were willing to offer more than the league minimum.

“Did I think Malik could make a few more dollars than a minimum? Yes, I did,” agent Jeff Schwartz said. “Unfortunately, the offers just didn’t come. So then it was about finding the right place. … I was disappointed there was no bigger offers out there, but I also know sometimes you got to just go out and show it for a year.”

Asked to make a quick decision during free agency so that the Lakers could move onto other targets if he turned them down, Monk accepted L.A.’s offer and hasn’t regretted it, despite the team’s struggles this season. After four challenging seasons in Charlotte, Monk is playing more – and better – than ever with the Lakers and appreciates that the organization was willing to take a shot on him.

“They put a lot of trust in me,” Monk says. “And I just feel comfortable, man, to go out and perform for them.”

Because the Lakers will only hold Monk’s Non-Bird rights and won’t have any cap room this offseason, the highest starting salary they’ll be able to offer will likely be $6.34MM, the projected amount of the taxpayer mid-level exception. Without dipping into their MLE, the Lakers would only be able to give Monk a 20% raise above the minimum.

It’s possible a more lucrative offer will await Monk elsewhere, but the 24-year-old tells McMenamin he has had a “beautiful experience” with the Lakers, while Marcus Monk – Malik’s older brother and manager – suggests a return to L.A. is possible.

“We’re very loyal people,” Marcus said. “The Lakers were calling him nonstop once free agency opened. So we don’t forget about that. On the other side, it is a business. … But I would love to see him in a Laker uniform.”

Wolves Notes: Trash Talk, Beverley, Edwards, Towns

March 17th, 2022 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves cruised to a 124-104 win on Wednesday night in Minnesota, handing the reeling Lakers their third consecutive loss and the 12th loss in their last 15 games. En route to the victory, several Wolves players seemed to relish the opportunity to talk trash to Los Angeles players, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes.

In a pair of sequences that went viral, Karl-Anthony Towns and Patrick Beverley mocked Russell Westbrook after he put up an airball (video link), and Beverley mockingly plugged his nose and appeared to call Westbrook “trash” after forcing a turnover (video link). After the game, James brushed off the trash talk as “part of the game,” while Westbrook said he wasn’t bothered by it, taking a shot at the Wolves in the process.

“Nobody over there has done anything in this league that would make me pick my eyes up, like, ‘Oh, they’re talking mess. Let me respond.’ No. It’s fine,” Westbrook said, per Youngmisuk. “They’re good. They won the game. Happy for them. Move onto the next one.”

Beverley, who has gone back and forth with Westbrook in the past, replied to the Lakers guard’s comments via Twitter later in the night: “Playoffs every year. 2 western conference finals with 2 different Teams 👀👀👀 individual stats or team stats? I thought it was a team sport??”

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Both Beverley and Anthony Edwards spoke on Wednesday about the Timberwolves’ increasing confidence, explaining that this season’s team has a level of “swag” that has been missing in the past. “Being on the other side, coming into Minnesota, a swagless team over the years. Not really understanding an identity, but this year is very different,” Beverley said, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “We know exactly who we are. We’re not backing down from anybody. Humbly though, very humbly. Not arrogant in that sense. Very comfortable in our skin.”
Towns has faced criticism over the years, especially following Jimmy Butler‘s departure, based on a perception that he lacks toughness and doesn’t have a killer instinct. But Beverley, who had heard those stories before joining the Wolves, has been pleasantly surprised by what he has seen from the big man this season. “I thought my biggest task when I came here was going to be KAT and it’s not. It’s been great,” Beverley said (Twitter link via Hine). “Man, of course you hear all those stories about different players before you meet them. … It’s totally the opposite of everything I’ve heard.”
After sustaining an ear injury last Friday, Beverley has returned to the starting lineup for Minnesota’s last two games and played well, but he said on Wednesday night that he’s been having some trouble hearing and will see a specialist about the issue, tweets Hine.

Knicks Reportedly Missed Out On Chances To Trade Alec Burks

March 16th, 2022 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks had several opportunities to trade Alec Burks ahead of last month’s deadline, but the deals fell apart because New York kept pressing for additional draft assets, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Among the proposals was a three-way trade involving the Lakers and Raptors that would have sent Burks and Cam Reddish to L.A., Talen Horton-Tucker and Nerlens Noel to Toronto, and Goran Dragic and the Raptors’ 2022 first-round pick to New York, sources tell Fischer.

Those talks reportedly collapsed because the Knicks insisted on getting more draft picks, which doesn’t surprise one unidentified Eastern Conference executive who spoke to Fischer.

“They are always trying to squeeze out an extra second-round pick here and an extra second-round pick there,” the executive said.

Since the failed trade, Reddish has been lost for the season with a separated shoulder, while Dragic – traded instead to San Antonio – reached a buyout with the Spurs and signed with the cross-town Nets. The Knicks are still without a reliable point guard and are expected to pursue one in free agency this summer, with the Mavericks’ Jalen Brunson likely to be a prime target.

Burks has been filling in at point guard after injuries to Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose, but New York approached the deadline searching for an alternative. Burks, who will turn 31 this summer, is under contract for a little more than $10MM next season and the Knicks hold a team option on his $10.49MM salary for 2023/24.

AD: No Way For Current Team To Maximize Potential

March 16th, 2022 at 9:20am CST by Dana Gauruder

Even if Anthony Davis returns soon from his foot ailment, it won’t fix the Lakers, Bill Oram of The Athletic opines. LeBron James has acknowledged that it may be too late to develop chemistry and maximize the team’s potential. “It puts a Band-Aid on some things,” he said of Davis’ potential return. “But I mean, we just haven’t had enough chemistry, enough time with our group to be able to know exactly who we are and who we can become.”

California Notes: Lakers, Holmes, Draymond, Clippers

March 15th, 2022 at 11:16pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The struggling 29-39 Lakers, winners of just two of their last ten games, are looking to the future, encouraged by the development of some of their youngsters, writes Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register.

Though the Los Angeles front office mostly opted to build its new-look roster around older veterans this summer, a handful of younger role players have emerged around 37-year-old All-Star forward LeBron James this season.

24-year-old guard Malik Monk and 23-year-old rookie wing Austin Reaves, alongside 25-year-old forward Stanley Johnson, have emerged as three of the Lakers’ more reliable players who may have yet to hit their ceilings. 21-year-old swingman Talen Horton-Tucker remains an intriguing option as well, though he has underperformed relative to his new three-year, $32MM contract this season.

“They’ve continued to improve and get better and more comfortable in our system, in our environment,” head coach Frank Vogel said of the Lakers’ youth movement. “Malik, Austin and Talen. That trio is another reason amongst others why I believe we have a chance.”

There’s more out of California:

The NBA has fined Kings big man Richaun Holmes to the tune of $25K after he threw a basketball into the crowd during a 134-125 loss to the Jazz on March 12, per a league press release (Twitter link). Holmes was ejected from the game at the time of the incident. It shouldn’t make too big of a dent in his wallet — the 28-year-old is in the first season of a lucrative new four-year, $46.5MM contract he signed with Sacramento during the 2021 offseason.
Despite being inactive for the last 30 Warriors contests this season due to a nagging back injury, All-Star power forward Draymond Green remains convinced he can still win his second Defensive Player of the Year Award this season, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Yeah, I’ve seen guys win with not many more games than I’m gonna play,” Green said. “I don’t know what league everybody else has been watching, but I have not seen anyone solidify themselves as Defensive Player of the Year.” Johnson notes that, should Green be available for all 13 remaining Warriors games during the 2021/22 regular season, he will only have suited up for 48 total this year.
With a 36-35 record, the eighth-seeded Clippers are six games behind the sixth-seeded Nuggets in the Western Conference. L.A. has just 11 games left on its regular season slate. The team has little to no chance of avoiding the play-in tournament at this point of the year, barring a collapse from both the Nuggets and the 40-30 seventh seed, the Timberwolves. The team is also a whopping 5.5 games ahead of the ninth-seeded Lakers. Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register examines how the Clippers intend to operate down the home stretch of the season given the reality of their seeding. “We’ll get a chance to experiment with our small lineup, which we gotta get better at once we get everyone healthy and get everyone back and then kinda see how that plays out,“ head coach Tyronn Lue said. Lue also intends to work through after-timeout plays, with an emphasis on helping shooting guard Luke Kennard improve his timing off screens.

Anthony Davis Talks Injury Recovery, Lakers’ Window, 2021 Playoffs

March 14th, 2022 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel confirmed that Anthony Davis is taking another step forward in his rehab process this week and will begin spot shooting in Los Angeles on Monday, writes ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN had reported on Saturday that this step was anticipated, indicating that the Lakers were encouraged by Davis’ recovery from a right foot strain that he suffered nearly a month ago.

Davis, who hadn’t spoken to the media since he went down with his foot injury, made himself available to reporters on Sunday and expressed hope that he’ll be back in the Lakers’ lineup before the regular season ends on April 10.

“I’m very optimistic about it,” Davis said, per McMenamin. “I’m trying to get back on the court as soon as possible. As far as a number or something, I would love to say 100 but with only a certain amount of games yet, not 100 percent sure.”

Davis also made a few more noteworthy comments during his media session, which took place before the Suns blew out the Lakers by 29 points at Phoenix’s Footprint Center. Here are some of the highlights from Davis, via McMenamin:

On his first thoughts when he injured his foot on February 16:

“The first thing I thought was, ‘Not again.’ I just got off of [being sidelined] four-to-six [weeks]. Now I got another four-to-six. So that’s where the anger came from. … It was a little bit of relief that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but more so anger of, ‘Here we go again.'”

On wanting to make the most of LeBron James continuing to play at a high level at age 37:

“We don’t know how long he has left in this league. Phenomenal player, future Hall-of-Famer, and to be able to play alongside him, you want to take advantage of it. We did the first year. Last year we both were banged up, and then this year, it’s [injuries] again but moreso me. So every day [the window is] closing. That’s another frustrating part. A lot of guys don’t get to play with talent like that. I have the opportunity to do so. … I want to take advantage of that time.

“He has another year left with the Lakers … and then who knows? I don’t know what he’s going to do. So we got this year and next year to try to take advantage of that and get another ring out of it.”

On his belief that the Lakers would’ve beaten the Suns in the first round of the 2021 playoffs if he hadn’t gotten injured in Game 4:

“I think we know that, I think they know that. I just feel like they just got away with one.”